Yarn



' Patented May 12, 1936 UNITED; STATES. PATENT, OFFICE- !AIN Jameslionislnhmwesttomandllenryfl.

Pen-annular,

No Drawing.

application l'ebruary 18,

Oi'lliIlI-l 1930, Serial No. 429 338. Divided and thil Ippilcation October 17, 1982, Serial No. 638,114

.wmm (cum-s2) In one of these types, a relatively small group of such fibers is brought together in substantial- 1y parallel relation to form an endless or contin-- uous, fine strand which is carried through the various steps requisite, according to the specific process employed, to convert it into a yarn in which the fibers are present in endless or continuous form and are co-extensive in length with the yarn, only a slight tolerance for accidental breakage of the fibers in handling being permissible. The number of such fibers handled seldom, if ever, at any stage exceeds, and in some of such processes is often at certain stages less than, the relatively small number in a cross-section of the finished yarn. Processes of this type, of which the reeled (natural) silk processes and the so-called denier rayon or artificial silk processes are wellknown examples, are very delicate, present many practical difiiculties, involve considerable waste, and must be carried on with great exactness and a high degree of skill in order to produce a highgrade product. As a result, the cost of production is relatively high. 7

In the manufacture of yarn by processes of. the other type above referred to, a multiplicity of the endless or continuous fibers are brought to- 0 gether in substantially parallel relation to, form an endless or continuous, relatively large sliver (having in cross-section many times the number of fibers present in a cross-section of the yarn to be produced therefrom), and the continuity of the original sliver, as well as the substantial parallelism of the fibers thereof, is then destroyed by suitably cutting or chopping the silver into short, regular lengths to reduce the fibers to what are known as staple fibers. These staple fibers are made into a so-called spun ya y being subjected to substantially the steps involved in carding, combing and spinning other staple fibers, such as the well-known steps employed in producing worsted yarn or cotton yarn. Such steps are numerous and, for instance, according to the worsted method. woollycomprhe the following:

Second gilling 1o- Finishing Reeling Because of the total number of operations required and the labor and machinery involved in carrying them out, the production of yarn from endless or continuous fibers by processes of this second type (of which the spun rayon process is a 25 well-known example), is also relatively complicated and expensive. There is,- moreover, considerable resulting waste of material.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new type of yarn from endless or contin- 3ouous textile fibers, which important advantages over each of the types above referred to.-

A further object of the invention is to provide ayarnwhichmaybemade atarelativelylow cost witha minimum of labor and machinery 35-- and in which well-known or standard textile machines. may be employed with but slight, if any modifications.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a yarn which has improved strength and 40 dyeing properties and reduced stretch, which is capable of being spun in fine counts, which has an even and uniform character, which is substantially free from slubs and nibs, and which, if the fibers are lustrous, has a high degree of lustre. 45

' substantially parallel relation. The individual fibers are referredto as substantially endless or continuous since it is not necessary that they correspond in length with the sliver, a wide variation in their length and a considerable tolerance for breakage being permissible, with our invention, as long as the continuity of the silver is maintained. However, it is desirable to have the 1 individual fibers co-extensive with the sliver as far as possible, as this facilitates the formation of the sliver and insures its uniformity. Such a sliver may be produced in any well-known or suitable manner, as by grouping a multiplicity of individual fibers from one or more spinnerets, in the case of artificial fibers. The sliver is relatively large, that is, is composed of many times the number of fibers to be present in a cross-section of the finished yarn. For reasons hereinafter indicated, the sliver is usually, although not necessarily, composed of a smaller number of fibers than the original sliver ordinarily used in the spun rayon process and other processes of the second type above referred to. We find, for example, that a sliver composed of approximately 2500 fibers is usually a convenient size when using, for instance, fibers of rayon, but it is to be understood that the size of the sliver may be widely varied as found expedient according to the character of the yarn desired and the particular conditions involved in any specific application of the process employed in making the yarn, such as the nature of the fibers, the number of the steps described below to be employed in carrying out the process, and the character of machines to be used.

The continuity and uniformity of the sliver and the substantial parallelism of the fibers thereof are not destroyed by the process herein described as in the yarns produced by the spun rayon process and other processes of the second type above referred to, but are taken advantage of in the production of our yarn.

We reduce the substantially endless or continuous fibers composing the sliver to relatively short lengths, -(i. e. to staple fibers), while maintaining 'both their substantial parallelism and the continuity and uniformity of the sliver, and in the same operation or by one or more subsequent operations, draft (that is, attenuate and draw down to smaller size) and twist the sliver to produce therefrom a so-called spun yarn of the desired size and weight.

These operations may be carried out in any suitable manner. One mannerand that which we now prefer-is as follows:

The sliver of substantially endless or continuous fibers is suitably passed through two sets of rollers, as illustrated diagrammatically, for instance, in the drawing of our said Patent No. 1,883,384. The rollers of the respective sets travel at the same surface speed, but the surface speed of the delivery rollers is greater than that of the feed rollers.

In starting the silver through the rollers the advancing end thereof should preferably be uneven, that is, with the fibers of varying lengths or having, what may be termed, staggered ends. If necessary, the ends of the .fibers may be suitably broken or cut to produce such a condition. As the silver then passes through the feed rollers toward the delivery rollers the longer fibers are the first to be nipped by the latter, and are thereupon subiected to tension due to the fact that the surface speed of the delivery rollers is faster than that of the feed rollers. By suitably regulating such relative speed, the tension is rendered sufilcient to attenuate and to break the portions of the longer fibers stretched between the sets of rollers at points of natural or inherent weakness. The next longest fibers are then nipped and broken, and so on, the fibers being broken at different intervals in a haphazard manner as the sliver progresses and new staggered ends being thus formed which in turn are nipped and broken so that. the breaking repeats itself indefinitely throughout the length of the sliver.

All of the substantially endless or continuous fibers originally composing the sliver are thus progressively reduced to relatively short, irregular lengths or staple fibers without destroying the continuity and practical uniformity or evenness of the sliver and, what is also important, without destroying the substantial parallelism of the fibers. The length of the relatively short fibers produced is determined, within limits, by the distance between the sets of rollers or, as it isknown in the art, the ratch, and by adjusting or setting-the ratch the length of the staple fibers may be varied to suit the particular drafting and spinning steps to be thereafter employed and the machinery to be used therefor.

As the silver passes through the rollers, the tension produced by having the delivery rollers running at a faster speed than the feed rollers, not only attenuates and effects the staggered breaking of the fibers but also drafts the sliver as it is converted into fibers of shortlengths, so as to pull the sliver out-or elongate it and draw it down to a smaller size having in its crosssection a fraction of the number of fibers composing the sliver in its original form. The extent of the drafting or drawing may be varied,.as

the feed rollers, but this is merely referred to by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

When the sliver of substantially endless or continuous fibers has been both reduced to short or staple fibers, and drafted, the resulting sliver is not only endless or continuous and has the short fibers arranged therein in substantially parallel relation, but it also retains the practical uniformity or evenness which characterized the original sliver.

Hence, in and by a single step of drafting the sliver, we obtain the resulting sliver, which may be readily transformed into a yarn, without the necessity of subjecting the short or staple fibers produced to the numerous steps required in the spun rayon process and other processes of the second type above referred to, to produce a sliver of corresponding size and character. The elimination of these steps is obviously advantageous sinee'it efiectsisubstantial eeonomy in the'cost of manufacturing. "rurthermore, the waste-of material, which with these steps is considerable, is-reduced. Then, too, the scarring or mangling of the surfaces of the fibers which is incident to carding, combing and other of the steps eliminated, is obviated with the result that the fibers maintain more nearly their original superficial condition and, if lustrous, have their lustre pre served to a higher degree.

The resulting sliver may, under certain circumstances, be twisted in any well-known or suitable manner to form a yarn directly there-. from. This depends upon the size of the original sliver, the extent to which it has been drafted, and the size and weight of yarn desired. Where I the resulting sliver is too large or heavy to be converted directly into the desired yarn, it may be suitably twisted or otherwise formed into a roving which in turn is reduced by being further drafted and twisted through one or more stages to produce the yarn. The yarn produced has an even or uniform character and is substantially free from slubs and nibs. This yarn has'increasedstrength, improved dyeing properties, reduced stretch, and is capable of being spun in fine counts, it being believed that thesecharacteristics are due to the fact that all of the staple length fibers composing the yarn are attenuated throughout their length substantially to their breaking point, and to the change in physical properties resulting from such attenuation. The yarn may be either used as a single yarn or, if desired, formed into ply yarn, as is well-known in the art. The finished yarn is put up in any form desired by the trade, such as reeled in skeins, wound on cones, or the like. A fabric, as for instance knitted goods, made from this yarn has the property of returning to its original condition after being stretched, diflfering substantially in this respect from fabric made from out staple yarn. This characteristic of the yarn exhibits itself particularly in garments made therefrom in that they return promptly to their original shape after being stretched or deformed under conditions of use. This important property is likewise believed to be due to the fact that all of the staple length fibers composing the yarn have been stretched or attenuated substantially to their breaking point, and to the resulting change in their physical characteristics.

, It will thus be seen that the preferred process described herein considerably simplifies the production of so-called spun yarn from substantially endless or continuoustextile fibers, eliminates many of the steps required in the processes of the second type now employed in the production of spun yarn, and results in the production of a high-grade yarn having distinctive characteristics. Moreover, theprocess is less delicate and presents less difiiculties than processes of the first type and produces a yarn whichis more desirable for certain purposes. It is to be noted, too, that in our process there may be considerable tolerance for breakage of the individual fibers composing the original sliver without detracting from the quality of the finished yarn, while in processes of the first type little, if any, tolerance is possible without directly afiecting the quality and value of the yarn produced.

It is also to be noted that yarn may be made by the described process with substantial economy and with a minimum of labor and machinery. While special machines may, of course. be employed, our new yarn may be produced with well-known or'standard'textile machines, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For instance, the attenuating and breaking of the fibers and drafting of the silver maybe performed on a finishing frame, a reducing frame, a roving frame or a spinning frame, such as employed in the manufacture of worsted yarn, these machines being merely mentioned by way of illustration, and a particular machine being employed according to given conditions. Moreover, the resulting sliver may be twisted in the same machine to produce a yarn directly therefrom where this is appropriate. Otherwise, the further drafting and the subsequent twisting may be carried out on conventional machines for performing such steps in the manufacture of worsted or other staple fiber yarn. The same may be said of the winding, reeling, or the like, of the yarn produced.

It is to be noted that the size of the original sliver to be usedv depends upon the machinery to be employed in breaking the fibers and drafting the sliver, the amount of draft, whether or not there is to be further drafting, and the size of the yarn to be produced. It is because of the first of these factors that the original sliver, when it is to be broken and drafted on conventional textile machines, is usually of somewhat smaller size than the original sliver ordinarily used in the spun rayon process and other processes or the second type above referred to. If the size of the original sliver is too great to be readily handled on a particular machine to be so employed, the machine may be subjected to excessive strain and may fail to effect a positive'and rapid breaking of the fibers.

The original silver is usually wound in a ball or on a spool, or collected in a suitable container, or otherwise putup in untangled condition so that it will play out readily when subsequently used in making our novel yarn. But this is, of course, unnecessary, if the production of the silver is followed by the steps of the process which we prefer to use, in a continuous sequence.

In inserting the end of the sliver in the rollers, it is not believed to be absolutely necessary that it be uneven or have its fibers with so-called staggered ends, since there may be, at least in certain instances, sufiicient irregularity in the breaking of the fibers to maintain the continuity of the sliver. However, such an uneven end is desirable because it puts less strain on the machine, and minimizes slippage and also possible irregularity of the resulting sliver at the start.

While we have set forth above one method of making our invention, it is not limited thereto, but may be practiced in other forms, and with other forms of apparatus Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we attenuated throughout their length luhetan to their breaking point. 7

4. Aeen intermedinte product in the production of yarn I, roving consisting at a multiplicity of substantially parallel though eliuhtly twisted uncarded artincinl fibers all 0! e predetennlned staple length range and all ettenusted whomthllytotheirhnekin pointmhienlthnn e beingthetdeterminedby nrtiilcinl nlnmentl rupturing continuous 01 uniform section between :peceddrnitrollamdthedeneeotettenmtion beingthnt incident to such rupture. JAMES LOUIS nomun. HENRY B. PERRY. 

